Perhaps, PERHAPS, Decryption is no more evil than a very, very powerful loyalty/suggestion spell.

But as I've said before, units like Parson, Sizemore and Maggie are free to think Stanley is a complete moron. Parson can probably figure out a way of successfully turning, given time (and Charlie's help?).

They just can't refuse his orders.

That's bad, that's even slavery, but not completely, inherently evil.

When you do something to someone's mind that forces them to think/feel/believe a certain way..... that's different.

When you create someone, someone who would not exist/be alive without you doing so, and you create them in such a way that they happen to love you, is that evil? Because children naturally feel that way towards their parents. Many people feel that way towards their religion.

Remember that Decryption is not mind control - it is the creation of life, which happens to be on your side. The fact that the old Ansom wouldn't like it is irrelevant - he probably wouldn't like Stanley taming new dwagons to invade Jetstone with either. Why does he deserve a vote?

I think a lot of it comes down to how we are each defining evil. And that makes these dicussions circular. Categorizing things based on subjective ideals like good/evil just isn't really possible. Defining those subjective ideals and making them objective would have to happen first... and lets face it, when it comes to "good" and "evil" millenia of humanity have failed to agree on a definition.

We'll just have to all agree to disagree on whether decrypting, wanda, the plan for jack, etc, are evil.

Yes, but that definition of "good intentions" is still morally based and thus still flawed. There are societies where betraying someone is considerd a mark of greatness.

People judge others by their actions and judge themselves by their intentions. Only the worst of the worst think they aren't doing things with good intentions. This is where rules (not laws, there is a difference) come about, trying to find a guideline like a line in the sand.

As far as we can see, the Casters are upset with Wanda because she is screwing with this, the rules they have in place, which is why she is seen as a morally baseless monster by them. She's not just upsetting the applecart: she's set it on fire.

Remember, Wanda is not the onyl Croakamancer out there. Normal Croakamancy magic is fine by the MK. It's this new type, Decryption, that has them all freaked out.

Remember, Wanda is not the onyl Croakamancer out there. Normal Croakamancy magic is fine by the MK. It's this new type, Decryption, that has them all freaked out.

Yes, but I don't think its Decryption itself that has them so worried. I think its how she's using it that freaks them out.

You have to remember that the nature of Erfworld has discouraged any one side from becoming TOO powerful. Yes, Jetstone is powerful, but they know they can't conquer the world. They know that conquering a neighbor like Haggar would siphon off forces that would leave them weak and vulnerable on other fronts. Remember Vinny's narrative in the Summer Updates where new sides pop casters that they need. There is a balance. That balance has become the status quo.

Wanda is upsetting that status quo. That's why MK is up in arms. (And Charlie)

Look at it as if it were a game : Your a DM/GM with players who are all competing with each other. One of them finds an exploitable mechanic that lets them dominate the game. Do you :

a) Them's the breaks. Let the Rules-monkey win, and congratulate them for it.
b) Make a house rule and smack that monkey down.

On page 10 in the new book in the second panel, it looks like Jack is being tended to by some types of medics and we can see the bandage on the dwagon. Then later in this page Parson is asking about Healomancy scrolls to get him back on his feet. So my question is: Does Erfworld have paramedics or First Aid of some kind? Besides Healomancers, can anyone else help someone heal (if they don't have a scroll). I mean, if they survive until their next turn they heal instantly, so having people trained in First Aid does not seem to make a lot of sense. On the other hand, maybe it could be some kind of Natural Healomancy?

I don't think they have even a concept of first aid. Caeser had two arrows sticking out of him, and it apparently didn't even occur to him to pull the arrows out. He just suffered the pain and waited for dawn.

I found that episode with Caesar and the arrows a bit weird. It seems that Erfworlders do not bleed, even with horrific-looking wounds. We know they have blood, though or else Caesar would not have threatened to drink Jillian's. Bleeding might be a very special form of damage that only occurs under certain conditions, but games with stacking units do not normally implement it. It's a detail best left to first-person games, and even though Erfworld seems to be a hybrid with all its personalities, the flavor is really that of a table-top wargame.

This is what makes Erfworld so jarring at times, to us as well as Parson. It seems like a role-playing game with all these characters in it, but it lacks all the detail you would expect in such a game. It's like you were shrunk down very small and placed on a chessboard where you discovered that the pieces have inner lives...and not much else, being stuck on a board.